Magistrates' Courts: Standards

We have interpreted your questions as asking how many magistrates’ and Crown Court trials were ineffective (did not go ahead on the scheduled trial start date and so a further listing is required) in the past three months, and the reasons those trials were ineffective.

The Ministry of Justice publishes quarterly data on the volume of trials that were ineffective at the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court including reasons in the ‘Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool’. The latest period included covers October to December 2025 and can be found here: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK.

An ineffective trial can be caused by a number of factors, including action or inaction by one or more of the prosecution, the defence or the court.

We asked Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts to make recommendations to tackle inefficiencies within the criminal courts, including the causes of ineffective trials. We have taken steps to deliver swifter justice through significant investment in the system – in record sitting days (increasing judicial capacity), court buildings and technology, and in legal professionals with significant investment in legal aid. In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced several measures to drive efficiency and reduce ineffective trials. This includes the introduction of case coordinators in every Crown Court centre and supporting the Lady Chief Justice to publish the first ever National Listing Framework and pilot an AI Listing Assistant. We are also working with the Department for Transport and local authorities to expand the number of areas where prison transport vans can use bus lanes to reduce traffic delays - reducing wasted court time.